different take on vanity plates

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Bob Allen, Feb 27, 2004.

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  1. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    Sailors name their ships. Not too many pilots name their airplanes, and, it seems, fewer people name their cars. I can't recall any posts on this chatline where someone named their Prius. I've always had names for my cars. Cars are made by people and so exhibit quirks and "personality traits", just as their makers do. It was easy to name my VW Beetles because they were definitely personality cars.
    I thought of a name for my Prius after reading Car and Driver's January issue, and I'm putting in a request for vanity plates with the name:
    HUMU-NU
    This is short for: "humuhumunukunukuapu'aa, the Hawaiian Triggerfish. Car and Driver drivers/reviewers really liked the Prius. They loved the "wedgie body, triggerfish shape" (their words). Rather than try to find some catchy environmentalis/fuel efficiency, seven letter word, I thought I'd be more subtle. Triggerfish live in coral reefs which are very much in danger of extinction and this seemed to be a way of making a connection between what we consume and the effects of that consumption.
    It's tempting to be smug about buying Prii as if we were on some enlightened plane of existence, but that can alienate the people we'd most like to influence. The car is inherently loveable like the Beetle, and it should speak for itself.
    Bob
     
    #1 Bob Allen, Feb 27, 2004
  2. rflagg

    rflagg Member

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    My current car, a 2000 Neon doesn't really have a name. However, when my prius arrives, it will be thusly dubbed "Computer".

    Yes, my partner is a big Star Trek fan. Now if we can only find a mod to make the nav voice the same as the woman who did the ST voice.

    -m.
     
    #2 rflagg, Feb 27, 2004
  3. cybele

    cybele New Member

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    I named my car Dyna.

    My last car was named Holly Paynyo because it was jalepeno green.

    The voice of the Star Trek computer (since ST:TNG) is Majel Barrett, widow of Gene Roddenberry. She was Nurse Chapel in the orginal series and then Counselor Deanna Troi's mother, Lwaxanna. It would be cool to see her in commercials for the Prius ...
     
    #3 cybele, Feb 27, 2004
  4. Dauth

    Dauth New Member

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    Bob Allen said
    Just to get you the full etymology, this is from bartleby.com

    Etymology: Hawaiian humuhumu-nukunuku--pua'a, trigger fish with a blunt snout like a pig's : humuhumu, small trigger fish (from reduplication of Proto-Polynesian *sumu, trigger fish) + nukunuku, small snout, reduplication of nuku, snout + , like + pua'a, pig

    so, it looks like you did good by leaving off the "pua'a" part.

    Just a thought but, you might want to add a triggerfish as your avatar now. (Not that I have an avatar either)
     
    #4 Dauth, Feb 27, 2004
  5. starla30

    starla30 New Member

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    my car is dhalia. i was at work and mentioned trying to think of a name for my prius. a co-worker went to thesaurus.com and looked up "red." i was susrprised to see that dhalia came up as a synonym meaning a flower that can be red
     
    #5 starla30, Feb 27, 2004
  6. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    How about that pic for you, Bob?
     
    #6 Danny, Feb 27, 2004
  7. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    #7 john1701a, Feb 27, 2004
  8. rflagg

    rflagg Member

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    Indeed you do, John! I need to find a place to upload the pics I took last weekend of the first Enterprise (the test space shuttle) over at the Dulles Air and Space Museum.

    -m.
     
    #8 rflagg, Feb 27, 2004
  9. rockluvr

    rockluvr New Member

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    I named mine Carmen Electra.
     
    #9 rockluvr, Feb 27, 2004
  10. Cathy K

    Cathy K New Member

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    Wow great triggerfish avatar! I hadn't realized how accurate that description was until I saw that nose profile.
     
    #10 Cathy K, Feb 27, 2004
  11. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    "Carmen Electra" is perfect! I've never named a car before. But my '04 Prius is named Quetzalcoatl. I have no idea why.
     
    #11 daniel, Feb 27, 2004
  12. Dauth

    Dauth New Member

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    John1701A wrote

    Thought maybe you would have moved up to 1071-D for this one. In the same vein though, Galileo may work
     
    #12 Dauth, Feb 27, 2004
  13. inventor00

    inventor00 Active Member

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    We were considering Fanny as when you see it in a line of parked cars, guess what sticks out...
    Hubby wanted Big Bertha...

    But maybe not.
     
    #13 inventor00, Feb 28, 2004
  14. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    Fanny is a good name. Big Bertha would be a better name for a Hummer.
     
    #14 Bob Allen, Feb 28, 2004
  15. penpendisarapen

    penpendisarapen New Member

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    That's a cool Prius avatar you added there. Where'd you get that?
     
    #15 penpendisarapen, Feb 28, 2004
  16. penpendisarapen

    penpendisarapen New Member

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    Never named a car before. But since you brought it up, I'm choosing between "Delta Flyer" (ST:Voyager) and "Defiant" (ST:DS9). The "Delta Flyer" kinda looks like the Prius, while the "Defiant" has a cloaking device (stealth mode).

    [Broken External Image]:http://eaglescorner.com/images/flyer2-S.jpg

    I also thought of naming it "Hal".
     
    #16 penpendisarapen, Feb 28, 2004
  17. Dauth

    Dauth New Member

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    #17 Dauth, Feb 28, 2004
  18. Atoyot

    Atoyot New Member

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    Don't have one yet, but it will be named "Cortana" after the AI in Halo. Now if I could just get a Holoprojector on the dash to project her image we would be all set. It would be cool to have her voice too. In the game she would tell the Master Chief that she was putting a NAV marker on his HUD to point him to his next objective.

    Atoyot

    Halo - The only reason you need to own an XBOX.
     
    #18 Atoyot, Feb 28, 2004
  19. xlarimer

    xlarimer New Member

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    I've been referring to mine as "the halfling."

    :)
     
    #19 xlarimer, Feb 29, 2004
  20. JBCIII

    JBCIII Junior Member

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    Did you notice that the speedometer display is horizontal
    and is reflected in a mirror? It's a projector...sorta...kinda.
     
    #20 JBCIII, Feb 29, 2004
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